Recreational exercise motives of adolescents and young adults

Abstract

This study examined the motives for taking part in recreational exercise/sporting activities based on a sample of Turkish young people. Secondly, gender and age group differences with motivational dimensions were investigated. A total of 298 members of 6 Youth Centers voluntarily participated in this study. The Recreational Exercise Motivation Measure (REMM) was administered to all participants. Two × two MANOVA revealed significant main effect for gender (p < 0.03) and age group (p < 0.01). Univariate follow-up tests revealed that the significant main effect for gender was attributable to health subscale, and age group differences were correlated with health, body/appearance, social/enjoyment, and skill development subscales (p < 0.01). It can be concluded that health motives were more important for females than males, and motives relating to health, appearance, and social/enjoyment were more important for young adults.